One of the greatest if not the greatest of all time lead off men in MLB history has passed away from pneumonia…,Rickey took the lead off position to new heights with his tremendous speed, great athleticism and tremendous attention to his craft. 130 stolen bases in a single season is an amazing feat. He stole more than 100 3 times, 3,000 plus hits, scored more runs than Ty Cobb.
I remember watching Rickey Henderson, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken and thinking that these men are truly great, great players. You know when you watch certain athletes and even though you are a goofy young kid you know you are watching great players. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jordan, Joe Montana, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Jack Nicklaus, Dale Earnhardt Sr all gave me that same type feeling.
He was the ultimate distraction while on base which did help his teammates while they were at bat. He stretched many singles into doubles as well. He had good power to from a short powerful compact bat swing. Rickey had a small strike zone due to his stance and stature while at the plate. That made pitching to him very difficult. I enjoyed watching Rickey because he was so focused on disruption of the other teams focus. And he could make stealing a base such a big part of the game.
He was a showman and definitely enjoyed his moments of doing things on the diamond. Which could be highly annoying to some.. . But hey even Dennis Eckersley was like that too. Both well, well deserving of being in the Hall of Fame.
I remember watching Rickey Henderson, Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken and thinking that these men are truly great, great players. You know when you watch certain athletes and even though you are a goofy young kid you know you are watching great players. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jordan, Joe Montana, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Jack Nicklaus, Dale Earnhardt Sr all gave me that same type feeling.
He was the ultimate distraction while on base which did help his teammates while they were at bat. He stretched many singles into doubles as well. He had good power to from a short powerful compact bat swing. Rickey had a small strike zone due to his stance and stature while at the plate. That made pitching to him very difficult. I enjoyed watching Rickey because he was so focused on disruption of the other teams focus. And he could make stealing a base such a big part of the game.
He was a showman and definitely enjoyed his moments of doing things on the diamond. Which could be highly annoying to some.. . But hey even Dennis Eckersley was like that too. Both well, well deserving of being in the Hall of Fame.
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